Friday, 2 January 2015

New Year, New Challenges

I’m confident 2015 is going to be a particularly significant
year for our town. Hastings Pier will rise from the ashes – and I’m really
pleased the council’s compulsory purchase of the structure played a big part in
the restoration and the coming re-opening. Nearby the old White Rock Baths
(where Miss Penny taught me to swim all those years ago) will at last come back
into use in 2015 as a major new centre for BMX biking.

The council has further exciting plans for the seafront
which we have been consulting local people on. The seafront is our shop window
and as it improves so the whole town looks more attractive and appealing to
visitors or to those planning to move here or relocate their business here.
I am determined we will make progress on
the old Bathing Pool site in 2015 and the council will be looking at new ideas
to unlock the economic potential of the White Rock and Falaise area.

The Bexhill-Hastings Link Road will open in 2015 and if that
significantly reduces traffic on the seafront let’s look at how we can civilise
that wide concrete space that separates the town from the sea.

Our open spaces will see significant progress in 2015. In
the East a new visitor centre is planned for our treasured Country Park and a
new visitor facility and play area are being prepared in the West in the new
Combe Valley Countryside Park.

But we are not just about high profile improvements; we want
to make sure everyone benefits from the revival of Hastings. The council has
been consulting on the introduction of a licensing scheme for all privately
rented accommodation in large parts of the town to ensure decent homes for
tenants. In 2015 the council also plans to trial running a social lettings
agency itself – which should benefit tenants and landlords alike. We will also
be launching a second phase of the Coastal Space project with AmicusHorizon in
Central St Leonards – buying up, improving and letting as social housing a
further 50 flats.

In 2015 we will be retaining the same discount arrangements
on council tax for benefit claimants despite the government taking away 10% of
the funds for this. We will also be looking at how the activities funded by the
life-saving local welfare assistance fund can be continued despite the
government ending this special pot of money.

2015 will see the plans coming together for the major
national cultural festival to mark 2016 the 950th anniversary of the
Battle of Hastings. Cultural regeneration will continue to be a major feature
of our work to continue the town’s upward momentum.

I believe Hastings is at a turning point. The positive
national press coverage over the last few months indicates how people around
the country are looking at our town differently – as a town that is improving,
that is creative and lively, a town really going somewhere. 2015 will see
further progress in the renaissance of Hastings.

There is, however, a dark cloud hanging over Hastings
Borough Council. We are facing the largest reduction in our spending power of
any council in the south east following the government’s funding settlement for
local authorities. We face a 6.4% reduction in 2015; Wealden council covering
affluent places like Crowborough and Wadhurst will see a 1.4% rise. Difficult
decisions will have to be made in this year’s council budget, but we will do
everything we can to protect jobs and the council services that local residents
value the most.